UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson Proves Smooth is Deserving Champion

As is often the case when UFC fights are decided by decision, not everyone agreed with the choice of the judges to award Ben Henderson the victory over Frankie Edgar in their UFC lightweight title bout.

But in this case, they got it right.

Sure, Dana White chimed in and said he had this fight going to Edgar. But he also acknowledged that it was close one way or another and reminded fans that Joe Silva had Henderson winning by a landslide.

Check it out.

White acknowledged that Henderson clearly had the advantage in damage, a fact that shouldn't be ignored.

Kevin Richardson's take of the Baltimore Sun chimed in with similar points.

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It was clear to me after the fight that Henderson had the better cardio and he out-boxed, wrestled and kicked his way to victory over Edgar. It also was Henderson's octagon aggression that set him apart and the deciding factor in the win. Henderson landed the most-devastating kicks and finishes. Henderson landed the biggest hit of the fight with an upkick that dropped the champion.

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It's hard to disagree with that. It's one of the challenging aspects of judging UFC fights—what do you give more weight to, punches landed or damage done? If you saw two guys fighting in the street, would you say the guy who landed more punches won, or the guy that appeared to hurt his opponent more?

You'd say the latter.

As to how much that should apply to MMA remains up for debate, but in this case, I think Henderson clearly was a worthy winner.

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